by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

Paul George's injury reignited a relatively recent debate: Should the NBA allows its players to participate in FIBA events such as the World Cup and Olympics?

Two summers ago, there was a movement to introduce an age limit for men's basketball at the Olympics and make it 23-and-under, similar to the men's soccer competition at the Summer Olympics.

But FIBA, the IOC and - this is important, too - NBA players resisted that movement. And, before George broke two bones in his leg in the USA Basketball scrimmage Friday in Las Vegas that likely will force him to miss the 2014-15 season, there was no significant effort to change the Olympic age limit. The NBA still plans on sending most of its best players to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

In a lengthy e-mail that detailed the benefits of international basketball, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told USA TODAY Sports, "I don't anticipate a major shift in the NBA's participation in international competitions."

"Of course, there's no doubt that this will be a hot topic at our next NBA Competition meeting in September and our Board of Governors' meeting in October and we will continue to evaluate the pros and cons of participating in international tournaments."

At the 2012 London Olympics, FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann said, "We should keep this (format) certainly for a while."

USA Basketball, the NBA and FIBA are partners, and both FIBA and USA Basketball will continue to push for inclusion of all players regardless of age.

"Basketball has unquestionably taken incredible strides since 1992 when NBA players began playing in the Olympics, not to mention, the jump many of our players have made in terms of ability, leadership and passion for the game by playing for their home countries," Silver wrote. "Injuries can happen any place at any time. The experiences our players have enjoyed by participating in their national teams, however, are ones that are unique and special in almost every other way."

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is an outspoken critic of sending NBA players to international events, reasoning the NBA pays the players' salaries and receives no financial benefit.

Cuban, who is recovering from hip replacement surgery, has tweeted old blog posts criticizing the IOC and the use of NBA players at the Olympics and re-tweeting a doctor who holds similar views.

When reached by e-mail on Sunday, Cuban replied, "Nothing to add. Nothing has changed. We are just as dumb today as we were ten years ago."

George's tibia-fibula fracture is the first that will cost a U.S. player all or the majority of a season, and that's a strong track record - one in which USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo is proud. Colangelo has sold the notion that not only do players return to their NBA teams healthy, they return better.

Pacers president Larry Bird did not blame USA Basketball or international competition for George's injury saying in a statement, "We still support USA Basketball and believe in the NBA's goals of exposing our game, our teams and players worldwide. This is an extremely unfortunate injury that occurred on a highly-visible stage, but could also have occurred anytime, anywhere."

Even though soccer has an age restriction for the men's Olympic event, there isn't one for the FIFA World Cup and several players were injured during World Cup games or pre-World Cup tune-ups.

For Cuban, it's more of a financial issue. The NBA gets no money from the Olympics, and Cuban hates that the IOC is making a lot. Make no mistake that when the FIBA World Cup moves off the FIFA World Cup cycle after this year and plays its next World Cup in 2019, the NBA will try to negotiate a lucrative TV deal.

With George's injury, more NBA owners and executives may take a look at changing the rules, but it won't be easy.

For many international players, such as Spain's Marc and Pau Gasol, Argentina's Manu Ginobili and Slovenia's Goran Dragic, playing in the Olympics and the World Cup is important. Ginobili won't play for Argentina this summer, The Spurs told him he can't play because of a medical concern. But legitimate health concerns are the only way an NBA team can prevent a player from playing.

These FIBA events are important for U.S. players, too, and credit goes to Colangelo for reinvigorating the program after a disappointing bronze-medal finish in 2004.

The USA won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2010 FIBA world championship in Turkey, the 2012 London Olympics. And even without a handful of stars, the U.S. is favored to win the World Cup later this summer in Spain and will be favorites at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

When the topic of instituting an age limit for men's basketball was raised two years ago at the Olympics, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant called the idea stupid.

Now-Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James said at the time, "I love what we've got going on with USA Basketball, and I'm happy to be a part of it."

USA TODAY Sports reported last week that Kevin Love called Colangelo almost in tears to tell him he had to withdraw from last week's training camp in Las Vegas.

Love and Kevin Durant have professed their long-term commitment to USA Basketball.

"Our goal is to make basketball the number one sport in the world," Silver said. "This is not going to happen unless governments around the world continue to back basketball as a healthy way for their youth to become physically fit and to learn important values like discipline and teamwork.

"Basketball is a sport of choice internationally because of the ease of participation, its universality and the fact that it's been an Olympic sport for nearly 80 years."